Middle East Post

By Nir Hasson, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press

MK Danny Danon lashed out at U.S. President Barack Obama on Wednesday, as the lawmaker participated in groundbreaking ceremony for a new housing complex for Jews in east Jerusalem.
“President Obama should not interfere with the rights of the Jewish people to live in Jerusalem,” said Danon. “This … is a racist demand, saying that Jews cannot live in Jerusalem, only Arabs.”

The ceremony kicked off construction of 124 new apartments in a Jewish housing complex called Nof Zion, or View of Zion, near the Arab neighborhood of Jabel Mukaber.
Danon added: “Our duty is to the nation that chose to deepen the settlement across Judea and Samaria, and of course Jerusalem. We will fulfill that duty, even at the cost of ignoring Obama and his advisors.”

The groundbreaking came a day after Israel defied American, European and Palestinian demands to stop settlement activity by announcing it will press forward with construction of 900 apartments in another Jewish area in east Jerusalem.
The entire complex, expected to be complete in 2015, will contain a synagogue, a community center, a luxury hotel and 400 apartments, priced at between $371,000 to $690,000, said Rinat Sylvester, head of marketing for the complex.

At the ceremony, New York State Assemblyman Dov Hikind said Obama’s call to stop Jewish settlement amounted to segregation.

Source: Haaretz News Net

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